Door supporting and raising means



Jan. 25 1927.

1,615,797 A. CAMPBELL DOOR SUPPORTI'NGAND RAISING MEANS ,Filed Nov. 8. 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

fl/s ATTORNEY ARGflE CAMPBELL.

Jan. 25 1927. 1,515,797

A. CAMPBELL.

DOOR SUPPORTING AND RAISING MEANS Filed Nov. 8. 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. AKGYLE CAMPBELL \l ATTORNEY 1,615,797 Jan. 25, 1927- A. CAMPBELL I DOOR SUPPORTING AND RAISING MEANS Filed Nov. 8. 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. ARGYLE CAMPBELL.

///s ATTIORNEY Y 1,615,797 Jan. 25, 1927. CAMPBELL DOOR SUPPORTING AND RAISING MEANS Filed Nov. 8. 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. 'ARGYLE (AM PEEL-L BY l R g Patented Jan. 25, 1927.

UNITE STATES rrics.

rrsnr ARGYLE CAMPBELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOES, ASSIGNOB I0 ENTERPRISE RAILXVAY EQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A COEPGRATIGN OF ILLINOIS.

DOOR SUPPORTZHG AND RAISING MEANS Application filed November 8, 1924.

My invention relates to improvements in door supporting and raising means for railway dump cars and the like.

One object of my invention is to provide an improved raising means for the doors of railway dump cars where such doors are adapted to be operated in individual units by direct manual effort. Hitherto it has been the practice with an individually operated door to lift the door directly to a closed or to a partly closed position and thereafter lock the door in closed position by means of V hooks or other suitable retaining means disposed in front of the door; Such a method of door operation is dangerous inasmuch as it necessitates the presence of the operator in front of the door and in the path of the discharging load in order to release the door and efiect the discharge of the load in the car. Furthermore, raising the door by a direct lift is a diliicult operation, inasmuch as there is usually a quantity of material in front of the door which must be shovelled away before access can be gained to the door to raise the same. Further, due to the great resistance encountered, it is practically impossible for the operator to fully close the door by direct lift, he being able, at best, to bring it only to partly closed position. It is necessary, therefore, to provide holding means between the car and door to temporarily retain the door in the partly closed position to which it can be brought by direct lift and also to provide additional means for levering the door to its final closed position and for the forcing of the locking means to a final locking position. It isalso the practice to provide meansfor arresting the door in an inclined position and as such means must sustain the full impact of the falling door with the load thereon, the same must have considerable strength, necessitating the use of extremely heavy parts. It is, thercfore, a further object of my invention to produce a simple mechanism which will be operative from a point out of the path of the discharging load which will support the door in both its closed and open positions, together with locking means therefor, disposed at a point which is in full view of the operator.

It is also a further object o my invention to j'n'o'vide a safety device for an individually operated door whereby injury to the opera tor will be prevented as the door drops.

Serial No. 748,542.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a safety driving connection for the dump car door, wherein the driving connection as a whole and all the parts thereof are held against movement longitudinally of the door operating shaft.

Other objects and advantages of the invention and improved details of construction will more clearly and fully appear from the description and claims hereinafter following.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a portion of a dump car of the socalled gondola type showing my improvements in connection therewith, showing two adjacent doors-the one to the left being illustrated in closed and locked position and the one to the right being illustrated in open position. Figure 2 is a View similar to Figure 1 on an enlarged scale, showing the door at the right-hand end of Figure 1 together with adjacent parts, and a portion of the left door, the doors being illustrated in closed and locked position, Figure 3 is a transverse, sectional view, partly broken away, taken through the car, corresponding substantially to a line 33 of Figure 2. Figure l is a side view of the actuating means for the door operating mechanism, correspond ing substantially to a line ll of Figure Figure 5 is a perspective view of the operat ing end of the door operating shaft with the shaft rotating attachments removed. Figure 6 is a perspective view of a clutch mem ber. Figure 7 is a sectional view through the clutch elements of the door operating mechanism, corresponding substantially to line 7-7 of Figure 41, showing the relation of the parts during the door lifting operation. Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7 but showing the relation of the parts during the door releasing operation. Figure 9 is a side elevational view of a portion of a dump car showing another embodiment of my invention, wherein the door is hinged on an axis extending transversely of the car in stead of longitudinally thereof. Figure 10 is a transverse, sectional view. through the car corresponding substantially to a line 10-1() of Figure 9. Figure 11 is a sectional view, broken away, corresponding substantially to the line 11-11 of Figure 10. Figure 1?. is a perspective view of the operating crank portion of the crank shaft shown in Figures 9 and 10. F igure 13 is an enlarged view of the hub viewed from the outer side of the car. Figure 1% is an enlarged view of the hub as viewed transversely of the car. Figure is a perspective view of the rotatable clutch element shown in F igures 9 and 10. Figure 16 is a perspective view of the sections of a two part door roller. Figure 17 is a view of the roller sections in assembled relation. Figure 18 is a side View of Figure 17.

In said drawings, my improvements are shown as applied to a car of the so-called gondola type and having a center sill 10; a series of cross-beams 11- extending out wardly from the center sill; side wall framing including a longitudinally extending side sill 12 and side stakes 13, disposed substantially in alignment with the respective cross-beams; flooring 14s; and side boards 15. In the floor of the car there are provided dumping openings 16, whereby discharge of the load may be effected. Each said opening 16 is adapted to be closed by a dumping door A hingedly mounted on the center sill by means of brackets 17. he car as described is of a type in common usage and my invention does not reside in this construction but in the simple and eflicient means provided for raising each door individually and locking the same. The present method of directly raising such door presents many diiiiculties and particularly so when the side sill of the car is extended below the floor line. It is a matter of coinmon knowledge to those skilled in the art that when a drop door in a car of the ty 3e shown on the drawings is dropped to an inclined position the lading in the car remains partly on the door and forms a heap at the side of the doors and also in front of the same as indicated by dotted lines at 181S, Figure 3. It is a common practice to employ doors raised by means of chains wind ing on a shaft journaled in the cross-beams. In the case of chain operated doors of the type referred to, the presence of the material as indicated in Figure 3 is not a serious obstacle, but when it is desired to raise a door individually and lock it in position as a single unit the presence of the material is a serious obstacle as the operator is unable to gain free access to the door and as the usual practice is, as indicated conventionally in Figure 3, to insert a bar 19 in a bracket 20 and lift the door directly it necessary to shovel the material away froin the door or else move the car before the doors may-be lifted to closed position.

The extension of the our side below the floor line provides a further obstacle which renders the operation of lifting the door to closed position by means of a direct liftwith a bar very difficult. In order to overcome the disadvantages above referred to, I provide a pivotally mounted member j which is adapted to operate the door from a fired point on the car structure. The member B is preferably in the form of a U having crank portions at its ends as at 21 and whereby it is pivotally mounted in brackets C and D, respectively. intermediate the said brackets and immediately adjacent its ends, the U-shaped portion of the member B presents radially extending portions which are disposed at the respective sides of the door and connected by a longitudinally extending portion 2st which is adapted to engage the undersurface of the door tarough the medium of rollers 25% which are loosely mounted 011 the said portion 24.

As a precaution to protect the operator from injury in opening the door, a safety arrangement is applied to the end of the member, whereby a certain degree of relative motion is provided between the shaft and the operating means when the door is opened. As shown, this safety arrangement comprises a hub 26, fixedly secured to the shaft preferably by forming the shaft of angular cross-section, as indicated at 27 and forming the hub with an opening to correspond thereto and adapted to receive the same and a rotatable clutch element 28 mounted on the shaft. The clutch element 28 has a radial lug 29 working within a groove 29 in the hollow hub 31 and adapted to. engage with a lug formed on the interior of the hub 31. The clutch element 28 is provided with a plurality of outwardly extending projections 32 which are preferably three in number and spaced apart to permit of the insertion of a bar 33 at varying angles for the purpose of imparting rotation to the said element. It will be evident that the lug 29 engaging within the groove 29 prevents relative movement of the elements 26 and 28 longitudinally of the shaft B.

As will be understood reference to Figure 7, one side of the lug .59 engages the lug 30 when the shaft is rotated to raise the door, but when the shaft is rotated in a direction to release the door the opposite face of the lug 29 engages with the lug 30 as shown in l ig r ure 8, there being slightly less than three-quarters of a revolution of the shaft taken 11 in lOT't motion between the two positions. Inasmuch as the total revolution of the shaft between its extreme positions is le s than one-half of a revolution, it is evident that the device provides suiticient' relative motion between the parts to insure safety to the operator. The hub 21: formed with a teries of approximatcly radially extending shoulders 34: with which is adapted to cooperate a locking pawl the locking pawl 35 being held in operative position by a pivoted cam 36. The pawl 35 and the cam are respectively pivotally mounted on the bracket D and a strap 3'? extends from one to the other of said members to maintain the same in. operative position.

The bracket D is preferably in the form of a casting having a journal bearing 39 formed integrally therewith, the journal bearing 39 being adapted to accommodate the hub 26 for rotation therein. T he bracket D is connected to the cross-beam by means of a vertical flange and horizontal flange 41-1. The brackets C and D have integ lugs 42 projecting outwardly therefrom acting as limiting stops for the shaft when it is in looking position beneath the door. is illu rated, each bracket 1) has one lug and each bracket C has two lugs oppositely projecting therefrom. The roll hereinbefore referred to, are provided to minimize friction, each roller engaging with a U-shaped brace a3. 7 As shown, a plurality of braces l?) are provided for a h door. The braces 13 each have flanges l1 disposedon opposite sides of the corrcspending roller and serve to prevent longitudinal displacement of the latter with ref erence to the member B. Adjacent the front edge of the door and connecting the respective braces of the door is a stiffening member l5 preferably consisting of an an gle-shaped member. To avoid the necessity of disposing bolts and nuts in the path of the rollers, an extra angle member 46 is riveted to the outside ofone of the flanges Jet of each brace 48, the member 46 being in turn fixed to the door boards. A stirrup 1? is secured to the door to act as a guide for the shaft and to prevent the door from bouncing up and losing contact with the rollers. The stirrup 17 also forms an ad- V tliiTiORil emergency stop to limit the move ment of the shaft relatively to the door.

it will be noted that to raise the door the shaft is first turned away from the operator by a downward pressure on the bar, assuming that the door and bar are in the dotted line position 7 shown in Figure 3, thereby obviating the necessity of dragging the shaft through the load and also permitting the use of a strong reinforcing member adjacent the free edge of the door. I.

am aware that it has been customary to provide cranl' shafts in railway cars adapted to operate a number of doors in unison but such mechanisms have proved, due to weakness, deficient and unreliable in trans mitting the load from a series of independent doors to a central operating and locking point. Various methods have been devised to withstand the combined torsional and bending strains incurred, all having for their basis the concentration of additional metal by thickening of the parts, thereby greatly increasing the weight thereof which is an impractical solution for a moving structure where the highest ratio of paying load to dead weight is sought. Instead of strengthening the shaft, therefore, from one door to the other, I divide the shaft at each door as at 18 and mount the ends of the respective sections in a common bearing and dispose a simple operating mechanism on one end of each shaft section immediately adjacent the door whereby each door is individually operated. In view of the fact that the door is co-extensive with. the operating shaft, it is adequately braced and supported at the operating end of the shaft so that the torsion on the end of the shaft remote from the operating end is neg li ible; consequently I am enabled to use a comparatively light shaft, which could not be done if a number of doors were used in conjunction with a shaft having a series of bends.

The operation of the device is as follows: Assuming the door A to be in open position as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 3, the operator inserts the bar 38 between two lugs 32 in the manner shown and bears down on it, thereby moving the radial arms 23 rearwardly and upwardly-until such time as the pawl 35 engages with the first of the shoulders 34, when the bar is moved between the next two lugs 32 in order to ob tain a more favorable angle for the bar, and the operation resumed until such time as the radial arm 23 is moved slightly over dead center and against the lug 4:2 and the pawl 35 engages with the last shoulder 34, where upon the cam 36 is swung over the pawl to to lock the latter in position. The de vice has the necessary features ofsimplicity which makes it especially suitable for individually operated doors. The arms 28, besides forming a quick raising means, also form the supporting means for the door in both its closed and. inclined positions. in its operation as a door closing means, the arms 23 effect increased power towards the close of the door raising ope "ation as the bar n'ioves through'a greater are than that made by the swing of the door.

In the coi'istruction shown in Figures 9 and 10, my improvements are shown as applied to a gondola car having transversely hinged doors. 1n saidconstruction, the our iiroper is shown as consisting of a longitudinal center sill 110, car side 11 1, cross-beams 112112, oar floor 113'. There is formed in the car floor an opening adapted to be closed by a hinged door 114; said door is operated by the bent shaft 115 which is pivotally mounted in brackets 116 and 117 mounted on the center sill and car side respectively. The safety lowering device, as most clearly shown in Figures 12, 13, 14 and 15, also consists of a hub 118 fixedly mounted on the end of the shaft and a rotatable member 119 which is formed with a lug 120 and with asquared portion 121 adapted to receive a wrench or other suitable actuating tool. The end of the shaft 115 as indicated, is squared at 122, and adjacent thereto is formed with circular portions of different diameters as indicated at 128 and 12% on which the member 119 rotates. On the outer periphery of the hub there are formed shoulders 125 with which a pivotally mounted locking pawl 126 is adapted to engage. Co-operable with said locking pawl is a locking cam 12'? whereby the pawl is locked in position. Interposed between the door and the shaft are loosely mounted wheels 128. As most clearly shown in Figures 16, 17 and18, each wheel 128 is formed in two parts united by rivets 129.

The crank shaft is maintained in fixed relation to the door by means of the stirrups 130 which also form, in conjunction with the projecting lugs 131 on the brackets 116 and 117, respectively, limiting stops for the shaft when in closed position beneath the door.

From the preceding description it will be seen that the arrangement which I have provided forms a strong, simple and durable mechanism by means of which a dump door may be operated, the mechanism being so designed that it may be added to cars now in service without material alteration, inasmuch as the parts are such as to permit of ready application to the beam members of the car without the necessity of forming perforations therein or disposing the parts beyond the outside vertical lines of the car.

It will also be evident that the arrangement of lost motion driving connection for the operating shaft, as herein disclosed, comprising two members, one of which is fixed to the shaft and has av lug working in a guideway in the other member, provides an eflicient and exceedingly reliable safety device, inasmuch as there is no possibility of the device moving lengthwise of the shaft and the co-operating members thereof moving relatively to each other longitudinally of the shaft. As there is no possibility of endwise movement of the lost motion driving means, there is no danger of the operator becoming injured. due to the operating handle becoming accidentally disengaged therefrom by slipping off of the same. This a distinct advantage over similar devices heretofore commonly employed, wherein the danger of the driving device accidentally moving lengthwise of the shaft is ever present, inasmuch as it has not been the practice to fixedly secure the same to the shaft.

Another important advantage of my improved lost motion driving connection is that the member thereof engaged by the operatin lever or handle is held against movement longitudinally of the shaft at all times, it being evident that there 18 great danger of the lever becoming disengaged from the lost motion driving connection in devices of this type, in which the member engaged by the lever is designed to travel longitudinally of the shaft.

It will further be evident that my improved lost motion driving device occupies a minimum amount of space and may be accommodated entirely within the bounds of the walls of the car, thereby providing a dump car free from undesirable projecting parts.

While I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferred manner of carrying out my invention, the same is merely illustrative, and I contemplate all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a .dump car, the combination with a dump door; of brackets disposed on either side of the door; a shaft rotatably mounted in said brackets, said shaft having an oflset intermediate said brackets engaging said door throughout the entire range of movement thereof; a clutch member fixedly mounted on one end of the shaft and rotatably mounted in one of said brackets, said member having a plurality of external pawl teeth formed thereon; a pawl mounted on the bracket for co-operating engagement with the said teeth; and an actuating clutch member loosely mounted on the shaft and adapted to have co-operating engagement with the first named clutch member.

2. In a dump car, the combination with a hinged dumping door; of a plurality of U-shaped members extending from the hinged end of the door; an angle shaped bracket member secured to the door and disposed at the. side of each said Ushaped brackets, each said bracket member being secured at the side to its corresponding U- shapedmember; a crank shaft pivotally mounted on the car structure adjacent the side edges of the door; and rollers loosely mounted on the shaft, each of said rollers being adapted to have movement within its corresponding U-shaped member.

3. In a dump ear, the combination with a hinged dumping door; of a crank shaft pivotally mounted on the car structure adjacent the free edge of the door and spaced an appreciable distance inwardl of the free edge thereof, said shaft being adapted to support the door in both its closed and open positions and also form a raising means for the door; a series of beams on the door extending from the hinge edge of the door across the plane of the crank shaft, said beams being adapted for engagement with the crank shaft; and areinforcing beam extending in parallelism with the free edge of the door and connected to the first named beams, said last named beam lying between crossbearers extending between the centersill and the side wall, said crossbearers being spaced from each other; a door interposed between said crossbearers; brackets carried by the respective cross'bearers; a

crank shaft pivotally mounted in said brackets, said crank shaft having an offset portion extending beneath the door and adapted to contact therewith throughout its range of movement; a toothed member rigidly united to one end of the shaft; locking means including a weighted pawl co-operable with said toothed member to lock the shaft against rotation and a locking member co-operable with the weighted portion of the pawl to lock the said pawl, the said lockingmeans being disposed intermediate the crank shaft and the side wall of the car and thereby readily accessible for manipulation.

5. In a dump car, the combination with several pivoted dump doors disposed side by side; of an individual rotatable shaft extending adjacent the free edge of each of said doors, there being a crank portion associated with said shaft for operating its related door in an opening and closing direction, said shafts being independently r0- tatable; and means for independently operating each shaft separately, certain of said means being arranged intermediate the adjacent end portions of certain of said shafts.

In witness thatI claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 4th day of November 1924.

ARGYLE CAM'PBELL. 

